“Bachelorette” fans weren’t sure what to make of Brett Melnick as he stepped out of the limo in the season premiere with a tall floor lamp in hand.

Would the slender bow-tied contestant make a joke about hoping to turn her on? Or promise to be the light of her life?

The Warminster native’s explanation didn’t do much to alleviate the confusion.

“My mother always said, ‘Never greet a lady empty-handed,’ so I figured what better than a lamp?” he told Andi Dorfman, this season’s bachelorette.

Dorfman responded that they’d have to make sure to return the lamp to his hotel, and ultimately, Melnick was sent packing a few episodes later, too.

A hair stylist at Jolie Salon & Day Spa in Blue Bell, Melnick said it was his co-workers who suggested he try out for the show. He filled out an application and a few months later, ABC called him. While his friends at work were excited for him, he said his parents were a bit skeptical about it. Eventually, though, Melnick said they eased up and said, “OK, well, have fun.”

Right before he flew to California, Melnick found out that the woman ABC chose as the next bachelorette was Dorfman, and he said his reaction was “definitely excited.”

“I watched the season before, and I thought she was the one who caught my eye to begin with,” Melnick said, adding that he went into the show “open-hearted” to see where the relationship would go.

Unfortunately, Melnick was eliminated in Episode 3, after his group date with Dorfman where she and the contestants sang with Boyz II Men.

In terms of how accurately portrayed events were on the show, Melnick said he thought the episodes were a fair representation of what happened.

This season’s “The Bachelorette” was unique in that one of its contestants, Eric Hill, died in a paragliding accident April 23, after the taping of the show but before the season aired. The season started with a tribute to Hill before the show delved into Dorfman and the first scenes of her meeting the contestants. Some critics described the transition from memorial to first impressions as somewhat awkward, while other viewers said they were glad ABC kept Hill in the show instead of editing him out.

Hill exited the show in the June 2 episode after a disagreement with Dorfman in which he said she had a “poker face” and wasn’t revealing her true self in front of the cameras.

Melnick said he understood why ABC decided to keep Hill edited into the show, even though Hill’s relationship with Dorfman turned sour.

“It was a shame what happened to him after the show,” Melnick said. “But why twist something totally different than what really happened?”

He added that it’s hard to show who you really are on camera, and Dorfman was probably exhausted after long days of filming, which may be what caused Dorfman to come off a little reserved to Hill.

Melnick described his point of view of the show as “accelerated speed dating,” where contestants had to be aggressive in order to get Dorfman’s attention.

“It was hard to get going and get to know who she was and introduce yourself,” he said. “I was shy and nervous.”

When considering his own prospects of being the next bachelor, Melnick said he doesn’t know if he would say yes if asked.

“Seeing what Andi went though, it would be a hard job,” he said. “It’d be a fun experience, but I don’t know — a hard decision.”